proposal letter format

Hi All,

Does anyone have a suggested format for a proposal letter or an example of one that could be shared on here? I’ve prepared a few freelance proposals in the past but this current one is a bit different. How would one prepare a proposal letter when the company prefers to pay as a package instead of by the hour and individual breakdown of tasks?? Any suggestions as to what kind of layout and what sorts of clauses to include?

Any feedback would be helpful!

Thanks!
B

  1. Program overview - repeat back to the client what they told you - be sure to have the program goal and objectives

  2. Work plan - what are you going to do - include actions and devilerables

  3. Timing and fees - when is it going to get done and for how much

  • Make sure your timing is contingent on client actions rather than dumb calendar dates, e.g. “5 business days after client chooses concept from Ideation round 2”. You aren’t responsible for their lags. Make it extremely clear upfront that if they dither, they are adding days to their timeline.

  • Make sure you are very clear about the level of the deliverables. Provide examples. Be clear about what you aren’t doing. Remove ambiguity.

  • Payment terms. If it’s 50% down before you even think about their project, put it in writing and don’t think about their project until they pay up. If they have 30 days to pay after your final presentation, put in in writing. Require a signature for all financial actions or scope changes.

  • Include a project download or kickoff phase where you review all the deep dive details of the project, and make sure you spell out that you will review your budgetary proposal and revise it if necessary after that meeting. Your initial proposal is budgetary (for helping your client establish a budget ballpark) until after you’ve had a good deep dive meeting. This is your opportunity to increase the price if you find out the project is more complex, has greater documentation requirements, etc, than anticipated.